History
Almost a century of history
The star class didn’t take long to conquer an expressive number of sailors, most of all because of its high technical level, probably the highest between the monotype boats, making the star boat a classic in all ways.
Among the star class are or have passed through most of the best sailors of the world.
Therefore is not a surprise that it is the oldest Olympic sailing boat. Its first participation happened in the Los Angeles games (EUA), in 1932.
The year of 1915 was marked by the creation of the Star Class Association of America (SCAA), which had George Corry as president. He was responsible for the organization of the main competitions and for the popularization of the class in the whole world. Seven years later the SCAA changed its name for Star Class Yacht Racing Association of America (ISCYRA).
In 1923 when the fleets of England, Canada, Wales and the Pacific Coast, the word America was replaced by International and the first Worlds of the category.
In Brazil
The history of the class in Brazil started at the end of the 20’s, when the two first star boats arrived in Rio de Janeiro. Years later the ICRJ decided to form a large fleet, unusual for those times.
The first intention was to built 10 boats. However, because of the enthusiasm of the sailors, the club decided to increase this number to 30 boats.
In 1931, the first three of these boats were finished and received the names of ‘Foguete’ (rocket), ‘Pagão’ (pagan) and ‘Bruxa’ (witch). The first time they were launched into the sea was during an event that had as ceremony master commodore Jorge Mattos, at the time, president of the ICRJ.
Today the Brazilian star fleet has 70 boats: 21 in Brasilia, 32 in Rio de Janeiro, 16 in Sao Paulo and 1 in Rio Grande do Sul.
The boat
The star class boat first appeared in 1911, sketched by the North American Francis Sweisguth. The initial project of the boat has only suffered a few modifications through history, always keeping the beauty of its lines and the elegancy of its sailing, drawing attention to the size of its two sails. The first boats of this class were made of wood, but for some time now they are made out of resin enhanced with fiberglass.
The current star boat is a keel boat armed in sloop and weighs at least 671 Kg, has 6,91 meters of length and a total sail area of 26,5 m², counting with two sails (20,6 m², the bigger one). For a good performance, its recommend that the crew weighs between 190 Kg and 193Kg, with the bowman weighing more because of the balance.
Owners of the star
Iselin, Knapp, Beardsley, Burnham, Lippincott, Etchells, Straulino, North, Buchan, Elvstron, Petterson, Conner, Blackaller, Melges, Brun, Adams, Cayard, Grael, Reynolds e Scheidt. These are just some of the most acclaimed skippers that have their names engraved on the base of the trophy of the International Star Class Association (ISCYRA) for the worlds champions.
Disputed every year since 1923 -only in 1968 that the championship hasn’t been realized- the trophy is one of the most coveted in sports history. Precisely because the star class requires more technical knowledge than other monotype boats and, it’s often the last step for sailors before changing to Ocean racing. For this reason the class has the most renowned sailors among its fleets.
